7916/Sentinels: A Conversation with Hank Pym

Sentinels: A Conversation with Hank Pym
Date of Scene:	17 June 2019
Location:	Medical, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Jessica visits Dr. Hank Pym in his recovery room to get some answers. She gets exactly that: SOME answers. Leaves with more questions than she arrived with.
Cast of Characters:	Ant-Man (Pym), Spider-Woman (Drew)
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

---

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
There's a report on Pym's condition available to any of the Avengers:
    Hank Pym is resting in the Avengers Medical area, though he is in and out of consciousness. He has been relatively stable, otherwise. He is very underweight, and is under considerable physical stress from being held in stasis for far longer than the procedure should have been used for. He is currently located in the largest of the medical rooms, and the doctors advise that he should not be brought any outside food during this critical stage of recovery. Interviews should be kept to a minimum of half an hour, to allow him to recuperate.

Currently, Hank is laying in one of the new medical beds. He's been cleaned up some, in fresh very comfortable hospital attire, and is propped up on pillows.

He looks pretty terrible: he's dreadfully underweight and pale, like he's been kept in Solitary in a prison, and he was pale to begin with. His blonde hair is somewhat messy from having gotten longer out of the passage of time, and he has a few months of blonde beard. When peeked in on, he's resting, it appears, and it's hard to tell if he's awake or not by just a look through the door. He's very very hooked up to all kinds of monitors and screens, from probes on his chest and neck to one on a hand, with an IV running fluids.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica Drew has been frantic since the disappearance of Sebastion. Unfortunately for her, he told her only that he knew of a place with a Master Mold, but not where it was located. A friendly visit to a facility outside of Moscow yielded very little in the way of information that might lead her to Sebastion in any way, so she has taken her leads where she can find them. It is certain that Dr. Hank Pym will have information that, if it does not lead her to Sebastion, it will almost definitely assist with the Avengers' missions in the days to come.

Approaching the door and peering inside, Jessica frowns slightly. She's never met Hank Pym, but she has seen all of the photographs. This looks like a hollow shell of Dr. Pym. She knocks lightly on the door to see if he responds, as she opens it slowly and steps inside. Opting for a dash of subtlety, she has donned a black version of her bodysuit, with a diminutive silver spider emblazoned on the chest, with a black leather minitrench, jeans, and boots. She offers a quiet greeting. "Dr. Pym?"

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
There's slight motion from Dr. Pym in the bed, he partially opens his eyes, but doesn't really move otherwise. It is a reaction fitting for someone that's been prodded by nurses over and over, and he's REALLY over it. So at first the half-lidded look from pale, watercolor blue eyes is intolerant, but then changes as he gets a look at her.

"I presume you're not here for more samples. In that case, welcome," Hank says with a dry, rueful tone, and a flicker of IV wristed fingers at the chair to his left. His voice is a little thick from having tubes down his throat; he sounds a bit like a smoker due to it.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica nods, removing a crossbody black crocheted bag and seating herself, setting the bag at her feet as she gets a better look at Hank. "Thank you, Dr. Pym. We haven't met - I am Jessica Drew, Avenger and Agent of SHIELD," she explains. "I understand you've been through a lot," she begins, then lowers her voice, looking cautiously at the door. "I've been in here myself, I know it's no picnic. So if there's anything I can do for you - or get for you - let me know, all right?" She glances at the ceiling, as if that is where JARVIS the all-seeing resides, trusting him to keep her secrets.

"Are you doing all right? How are you feeling?"

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"You'll forgive me if I don't get up," Hank says, with a slight little private smirk and lift of his eyebrows. He's joking, it may be apparent, but he's also carrying some sort of irritation at his whole situation that's making him prickly. It's low key, though, just underneath his words: it isn't in-your-face.

"Which are we using? Jessica, or Ms. Drew?" Hank asks, derailing entirely out of her line of questioning about him, and squinting at her slightly. He lifts his other hand to rub the side of his nose and into his hair. The hand falls away, though, soon enough, as if that scratch of an itch was exhausting. "I'm obviously pleased to be alive, but otherwise, completely terrible, to be direct," Hank replies, with a slight rattle of cough.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Jessica - Jess. Either's fine," Jessica replies. Her expression is sympathetic, and she clearly hasn't taken his irritation personally. "I know this is tough. From all I've seen and heard, we're gonna have you back to yourself in no time - physically." She frowns slightly, pressing her lips together. "But I have no way of knowing what all you endured since you disappeared. We'll help with that, however we can, as well. Have you been briefed at all on the current situation, since you arrived? Or are you just here in the dark, so far?"

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"I understand what's going on with me, you don't need to comfort or sugar coat, Jessica," Hank says, choosing the option for her name that he prefers, from those she's said are okay. He doesn't sound annoyed so much as just telling her what he sees.

"I'll have to push my weight back up, once they're sure I won't have nausea." He's very clinical about it. Grumpy, but not overly so. "A brief started, and I slept through most of it," Hank adds, with a slight little smile. It isn't apologetic, so much as amused. "Humor is a coping mechanism. --- Brief away."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"It is my understanding that you were taken by associates of Trask," Jessica begins, scooting forward to sit on the edge of her seat as her demeanor becomes a little more focused. "I helped to infiltrate a facility similar to the one where you were found, except the one I visited was in Russia. We found records of your capture and presence - coercion, or worse, were indicated. We've yet to learn what part they hoped that you'd play in this grand scheme."

Then, Jessica's demeanor shifts slightly darker. "A sentinel prototype that was...manufactured...in Russia and moved here was recovered by the Avengers. He looks human. He believes he is human, and detests what the sentinels stand for. But scans have indicated that he is almost entirely AI, and minimally functional at that. He was staying at an Avengers compound until he was injured in an incident there. After that, he took flight to seek a Master Mold for repair, still proclaiming even at departure that he was human." She shakes her head. "Sentinels are running rampant, and becoming violent. According to our rogue prototype, who named himself Sebastion, there are back doors and loopholes in the sentinels to allow them to be taken over. It seems as though Trask has a war on his mind..."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Hank listens pretty well, though he shuts his eyes part of the way through. If she pauses at all, he'll move a hand a little in a 'keep going' motion, to allow her to get into the whole explanation.

"Well, there's a lot to unpack, there," Hank replies, after a quiet deep breath, wherein he opens his eyes again. "Where do you want to start? In Russia? The Sentinels as a whole? The rogue prototype? Also, would you mind very much refilling my water cup? It is right there," Hank asks, all on the same even tone of voice, nodding towards his clear cup with the straw in it near his hand-table.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Oh absolutely," Jessica replies, standing quickly to refill the cup from a styrofoam-wrapped pitcher of ice water. "I have contraband in my bag, if they haven't been feeding you well..." She says softly, nodding to the bag beside her chair. "I think I would like to start with Sebastion - the rogue prototype. He looks to be futuristic tech in many ways, from all our scans and examinations. Fully armed, as well. But his humanity complex baffles me...well, all of us." She flushes. And since we know he was created in Russia, anything you know there would be helpful, too."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
There's some interest in the contraband. "What did you bring, Jessica?" Hank asks, amused, as if he found that she's appealing to him with food funny in some way. He works on his water, with a forced strength of willpower. He gets it by himself, has some, though he does use the straw. He doesn't look at her while he does it, as if he found the straw demeaning in some way, but puts it down soon after.

"Do you have a question, or do you want me to just talk about 'Sebastion' in a broad way? I don't know your background on artificial intelligence or robotics, or cybernetics," he asks. He keeps the water, hanging onto it, as it's easier to just hold it a bit rather than put it up and down on that 'far' tray. "If you're asking if I saw him: yes."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica's eyes brighten. "You saw him??" She reaches down for the bag and opens it up, pulling out a handful of items. Packets of miniature chocolate chip cookies and Oreos, packets of peanut butter or cheese cracker sandwiches, a chocolate bar or two. An oversized blueberry muffin, and various types of chips. Looking down at the selection, she gives a lopsided grin. "It's just what I do, when people are stoved up in one of these places. I used to bring food to Sebastion, too, when he couldn't leave the compound," she adds thoughtfully.

"I don't have an extensive knowledge of AI or cybernetics, but I've dealt with them enough to understand most of what has been discussed. Do you know anything about him? How he came to have this...conscience? This human quality? He shows human instincts. Human emotions. These aren't things I can imagine were programmed into his AI protocols. He had a will to deactivate his scanners for us. His weapons. He stayed of his own free will, and protected us from the other sentinels. I don't understand how these things happened if he's all AI. But I did see...in the notes...the mention of human parts, as well, in his creation in Russia."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Dr. Pym looks over her variety of things with a thoughtfulness to it. "The muffin looks decent," he says, which she may pick up as being as positive as he's able to be at the moment, with the amount of awfulness he's feeling physically.

"Right, so, clearly you really liked 'Sebastion'," Hank replies. "Forgive me. You like him now. Current tense. So I'll try to be a little tactful here." He lifts his water, to drink a long sip from the straw. "Trask Industries put together a team, when they first found Project 1. Sebastion. The team made a lot of really stupid assumptions about what they had to do. They tried to fix him. Failed a lot." Pym's attitude is that of a tolerant teacher talking about students not understanding the material.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I did. I do," replies Jessica. "He seemed to crave human contact..." she observes. "Most of his systems were nonfunctional. I assume that was what happened when they tried to 'fix' him. Or they could simply never bring them up and online." Jessica unwraps the muffin as she talks, and sets it on the tray table, moving it closer to him, over his lap. "And then he fell into our hands."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Hank accepts the muffin and tray table, and adjusts to put his cup of water on it as well. He gives her a little bit of a funny look at her description of Sebastion's need of human contact. "Dr. Octavius felt that because Project 1 had cybernetic system support, he was offline due to missing those pieces. They lobotomized a young man for this project," Dr. Pym says, his voice suddenly chilly, and cutting.

"But that is Octavius for you. It is like if you go to a surgeon to ask about your foot pain, he is going to suggest surgery, before he thinks of some other solution. It's feeble," Hank says, pulling a piece off the muffin.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica takes a deep and shuddering breath. "It's my fear that his human nature came from the young man that they lobotomized. I believe we found that patient the night SHIELD infiltrated the Russian facility. But I'm not certain. I have not had a chance to see the patient, nor examine the evidence retrieved thoroughly to compare it against him."

Jessica grimaces, and tries to move on. "During Sebastion's escape, he was being targeted with anti-sentinel technology, and in self-defense, he destroyed Vision..." She looks to Hank. "It's my hope that you, with your knowledge, will be able to assist us in his restoration. I can only assume that is why they took you in the first place."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Hank extends his hand slowly next to the muffin, his eyes now down, as if considering some deeper truth within the muffin itself. Or past it. He leaves the hand, palm down, on the tray. His expression is exhausted, and distant. He's upset, or repressing it, or a mixture of things.

"Do you know how Vision came to be?" Hank asks.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica lowers her head, nodding slightly. "I understand your trepidation, Dr. Pym. The Vision was...a one in a million chance. But he was also a tremendous asset. I know all the arguments. I won't ask you to make that decision now. Just...consider it? In time, when you've recovered. He meant - means - a great deal to the team. As do you, whether you realize it or not." She's sure he most definitely does. "Is there anything else you can tell me about your confinement, the current state of things, or even Trask himself?" Jess looks up to Hank again, stealing a glance at the clock. "My time's almost up, and I don't want to keep you awake any longer than you need to be. You need to rest and mend."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"Let's stay on your first topic just a little bit longer," Hank says, choosing, it appears, to attempt to keep the conversation back where it was. "Humor me," he asks, with a chuckle that evolves into a rasping, pained cough. He sips his water.

"As I said, they couldn't bring him online. That's where I came in. I have a marvelous reputation for giving life to artificial intelligence," he says, in a self-deprecating manner. He's not bragging, it's something else, too.

"So, yes. That's why they took me."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"So you tried to bring him online, as well? There has been indication that his AI is nothing anyone has ever seen. In my conversations with Sebastion, he believed he was from a year much farther in the future. Although I could never quite get an exact year from him. He had some indication, whether it was in his systems or in his...well, brain...that he was suddenly in the past, and it caused him some confusion and discontent. He had recollection of being taken in by a woman in Russia, who was later killed when Sebastion was taken, assumedly by Trask associates." Jessica smoothes one thumb over the thumbnail of the other, in thought. "He chose his name somehow to honor her, he said. I don't know if that memory is accurate. And I don't know that his assumption of the year he came from was correct. But he remembered being found - taken. And all indications are that at least /that/ memory is correct. I see no reason why the others would not be."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"Well, you've already broken the rules with the muffin, why not break the duration limit as well?" teases Hank, with his sort of funny little private smile. The man is very aware, even in his exhaustion; it's caused more emotional thorniness to him more than it has anything else mentally.

"You are assuming a lot of things, Jessica," he says, more gently, though. His tone is kind, even if it has an inherent superiority to the words themselves. He's probably not doing it intentionally.

"Bring him online, just like that? Absolutely not. I did some other things, first." He grunts and settles back into the bed some more, and pushes the tray back. "But I'm tired. I do find it interesting to hear what he 'evolved' to, though. I'm glad he's not out of control." Hank closes his eyes.

"Dr. Walker must have given him that name. I think that's her son's name."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Wait...WHAT?" Jessica suddenly becomes animated and lifts her eyes to Hank, only to find him de-animated. Eyes closed. Tired, he says. "Dr. Walker..." She repeats, looking up at the clock and heaving a sigh. "Fine...yes. Please rest," Jessica urges. "But I'll be back to talk to you again. I have more questions than answers, now..." Jessica gathers her menagerie of junk food and closes it back up in her bag.

"Rest well, Dr. Pym. Until soon..." And with that, Jessica lets herself out of his room, and begins plotting her next opportunity to set upon him with all of the questions that have suddenly lodged themselves in her brain.